HARTFORD (AP) -- The Connecticut Labor Department says the state's unemployment rate dropped slightly to 7.8 percent in July, with job losses appearing to taper off from levels earlier in the year.

The unemployment rate was down from 8 percent in June.

The Labor Department says 2,800 jobs were lost in Connecticut last month. By contrast, the state lost 12,300 jobs in February and 11,900 jobs in April, the highest totals of 2009.

Don Klepper-Smith of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisers says the state has lost 76,000 jobs since last year, and can expect to lose another 20,000 to 30,000 jobs over the next 10 to 12 months.